This page is born through a collaboration between TERREDELSUD and the firm Martea, situated in the Municipality of Monreale, in the heart of the typical characteristics  of Sicily. Whoever would like to have more information or to contribute in any way can write to nelmondo@terredelsud.org to receive all the necessary information.

Geography and politics 

The Italian republic  

Surface: 301,401 Km²

Inhabitants: 57,844,000  

Density: 192 inhabitants/Km²

Form of government: Parliamentary republic  

Capital: Rome (2,656,000 inhabitants.)  

Other cities: Milan 1,302,000 inhabitants. (4,250,000 in the urban area), Naples 1,000,500 inhabitants. (3,010,000 in the urban area), Turin 900,000 inhabitants. (1,295,000 in the urban area), Palermo 679,000 inhabitants; Genoa 632,000 inhabitants; Bologna 380,000 inhabitants; Florence 374,500 inhabitants.  

Ethnic groups: Italian 95%, others 5%  

Bordering countries: France to the West, Switzerland and Austria to the North, Slovenia to the East, Vatican and San Marino inside the State.     

Principal mountains: Mont Blanc 4810 m  

Principal rivers: Po 652 Km, Adige 410 Km, Tevere 405 Km  

Principal lakes: Lake  Garda 370 Km²,  Lake Maggiore 170 Km² (Italian side, total 212 Km²), Lake Como 146 Km², Lake Trasimeno 128 Km²

Principal islands: Sicily 25,426 Km², Sardinia 23,813 Km²,  Elba 223,5 Km²

Climate: Mediterranean - continental - alpine  

Language: Italian (official), Sardinian, German, Ladino, French, Slovenian  

Religion: Catholic 90%  

Coin: Euro  

The Region of Sicily 

Apart from being the most southern region, Sicily is also the largest in surface area and the biggest island in the Mediterranean. it is touched by three seas: the Ionian to the east, the Tyrrhenian to the north, and the Sea of Sicily to the south. The territory is to a large extent hilly (61%), mountainous  (25%) and flat (14%).  

Mount Etna (3323 meters), a very active volcano, dominates the north-eastern part of the island and is by far the highest point in Sicily. Some archipelagos and islands also belong to the territory of the region: the Eolie , the Egadi, the Pelagie, Pantelleria and Ustica. The rivers have a torrential cycle. The longest are the Salso and the Simeto.  

Sicily is a region with a special statute and is inhabited by over five million people. Palermo is the principal town and the fifth largest city in Italy. Catania and Messina also have a large number of inhabitants..  

The economy has recently seen some improvements in the processing industry, but only in a few areas, while most  of the island is still tied to sheep-farming, the exploitation of the subsoil and  subsistence agriculture. Unlike breeding,  fishing is a notable resource (above all tuna and swordfish). The most cultivated agricultural products are  citrus fruit, almonds, olives and  vegetables; while a notable development is being had the wine growing and producing sector, with the production of wines whose quality  is  recognized worldwide.  

The mining industry has grown rich through the discovery of some hydrocarbon layers (methane and oil), that have joined the traditional resources of the subsoil (potassium and sulphur, the latter in continuous decline). Over time various industries have grown in importance: food, textile, canning, chemical, mechanic, wood, building and  construction materials. Tourism is not fully exploited, despite the numerous areas with attractions in the region. 

The territory 

The territory where the firm Martea is situated is found in the Municipality of  Monreale (in the province of Palermo), in the district of Marraccia. The district is found between 350 and 600 meters above sea level. The pedologic and morphological characteristics of the area are typical of those of the hilly, internal part of Sicily, with hot drought- producing summers and cold, rainy winters.  

Residentiality 

The grounds belonging to the firm, which are around 200 hectares in area, are used for the cultivation of cereal and biologically grown olives. The firm can easily be reached from the regional capital (55 km) using good quality main and secondary roads. The average density of the population present in this countryside is rather low given that the land extends moderately and it is still possible to have a good balance between the use of agricultural machinery and the need of manpower.

The economic system 

The firm bases its production, as mentioned, on the production of olives, in a biological way, and of seed products which are rotated every two or three years. The sowed production foresees a production of hard wheat from seeds and legumes from beans, which has been greatly developed in recent years, with importance given to the cultivation of new types which are different from those already widespread in the region. One part of the firm is dedicated to experimentation, in collaboration with research companies and institutes, of new seeds which can then be proposed to be produced for introduction onto the market. The first experimentation, conducted with ENSE, randomly compared new varieties of quality hard grain.

The second field of experiment, this time of an agro-technical nature, tested the suitability of a local pure production of Lathyrus Sativusi as an alternative to co-production. There has also begun a collaboration with ENEA in Rome, which considers maintaining the purity of some recent varieties of Cicer a. Again with ENEA, the presence of neurotoxins in the local population of sweet pea is also being monitored.  

In September 2003, a further research project started in accordance to a protocol of agreement with the Research Centre on nutrition, department of Biochemistry "G. Moruzzi", at the University in Bologna. This is on protein content and on the range of amino acids, as well as on the presence of "smaller" bioactive components such as fibroestrogens, with a comparison between "ancient and traditional" populations and varieties and present varieties of chick peas, lentils, sweet peas, broad beans, lupines, and beans. At the moment, a plant is being built at the firm for the storage, selection and packaging of legumes which are typically Sicilian.

The cultural level 

It is clear that, given the different business situation, which is dissimilar from those of the missions in various parts of the world, the cultural, technological and economic characteristics of this portion of the Sicilian territory are to be placed at the forefront of a sector of notable scientific and technical interest in the panorama of alimentary needs, not only those of Sicily, but also international ones. We are referring not so much to quantitative issues, but to qualitative ones, for the ideas of global interest that certain branches of research can give to address the problems which regard food in the world.

The project 

The collaboration with Martea must be necessarily collocated in the wider project that the Terredelsud association is developing worldwide.  

The great challenge which regards feeding the world in the future passes through the possibility of increasing production of vegetable proteins which the world’s population will absolutely need in the following decades.

The collaboration becomes, therefore, the junction between the possibility of establishing technicians, researchers and production at a local level, to then be able to export methods and techniques to countries where, among other things, a lot of climatic and pedologic conditions can result to be similar.